The Sri Lankan cricket team is in the United Kingdom and is set to embark on a three-match Test series against England, starting August 21 at Old Trafford. The task ahead of the visitors is daunting, but stranger things have happened in the sport. (More Cricket News)
The Lankans slumped to a seven-wicket defeat in their only warm-up game, against England Lions at Worcester. Chasing a mere 122 runs for victory after bowling Sri Lanka out for a total of 309 on the third afternoon, the Lions needed just 26.5 overs to gallop to a win on the final morning.
The Lions had earlier skittled SL for a paltry 139 runs in the first innings, and scored 324 runs in response.
Considering Sri Lanka's plummeting Test performance, especially in overseas conditions, and England's dominance at home, many are considering the outcome of the series to be a foregone conclusion.
But the hosts will not take things lightly, especially after suffering an injury blow by way of captain Ben Stokes' hamstring tear. Ollie Pope will lead England in Stokes' absence.
Meanwhile, the Lankans have appointed former England middle-order batter Ian Bell as their batting coach to help them with invaluable inputs during the tour.
"We appointed Ian to bring in a person with local knowledge to help the players with key insights on the conditions there. Ian has a lot of experience playing in England, and we believe his inputs will help our team in this crucial tour," Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive officer Ashley De Silva said.
In the midst of all the cricketing action, the visitors have raised concerns about the security situation in England in light of the anti-immigrant riots that had erupted in various cities. The England and Wales Cricket Board responded by reassuring SLC and the team about the security arrangements in place.
Sri Lanka Tour Of England 2024: Fixtures
1st Test: August 21-25, Manchester
2nd Test: August 29-September 2, Lord's
3rd Test: September 6-10, The Oval
Sri Lanka Tour Of England 2024: Telecast, Live Streaming Details
Sony Sports Network has the India broadcasting rights for the Sri Lanka tour of England 2024. The Sony Ten channels will telecast the matches live in India, with options for English (Sony Ten 5) as well as Hindi (Sony Ten 3) commentary. The matches will be live streamed on the Sony Liv app and website in India.
Sri Lanka Tour Of England 2024: Squads
England: Ollie Pope (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya De Silva (captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Nisala Tharaka, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake.
